When people think of great explorers, they think of the usual names: Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta, Evliya Çelebi, Christopher Columbus, etc. But not many know of one of the most interesting and influential of all time. In China, he is well known, although not always globally recognized or glorified. He is Zheng He, the Muslim who …

As hundreds started flocking to Makkah and Madinah to perform hajj this year, a total of 284 Chinese Muslim pilgrims from Southwest China’s Yunnan Province reportedly arrived at the Madinah Airport in a chartered flight on Sunday, as the first batch of about 12,000 planning hajj this year.

Throughout 1400 years, Muslims in China have gone through many ups and downs, until they reached the state of “harmony” with non-Muslims Chinese. Muslims in China began as traders and soldiers in the 7th century, therefore instilling in the early Muslim settlers a sense of belonging and legitimacy; they were not a burden on the …